St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-12-25


served the records of the past, away
back to the time where the miSts of pa
ganiSm first gave way to the dawning
light of Christianity, TEEN with Christ
mas myth and legend.
In some of these can be traced the
remnants of pagan obserVances which
became blended with the customs of the
Christian age at time when paganiSm
was succeeded by the nebulouS gloom
that foretold the dawn of the new dis
pensation, and which in some form or
other have survived till the present
day. The traditions and legends con-
nected with Christmas have an interest
peculiarly their own, and it is worth
noting that the spirit of charity and
good will, which is the leading charac-
teristic of the happy time. pervades
them all. Some of the most interesting
of these customs we Will endeavor to
briefly describe.
In England the custom of staying up to
midnight to hear the Christmas waits"
is still observed, although many good
people, if asked the question, would
find it difficult to give reason for
doing so. The tradition that Christ was
born at midnight originated this GUS
tom. At one time bands of singers used
to go about from house to house singing
| Christmas carols. These were the
''Waits." and by degrees the quantity
beautiful carols which they sang de-
generated into mere dOggerel, and the
custom for a time fell into disuse. Lat
terIy, however, it has been revived
somewhat, as also the custom of singing
Christmas carols in Protestant Episcopal
churches.
In the feudal times when the old bar
81 1,o L. rr1a ioA in Sf
| bringing in of the Yule log, an entire
! trunk of q tree which was burned whole,
was a great event and attended by pc
culiar ceremonies and great rejoicing.
| Then feaSting followed; the mighty
Wassail bowl was introduced and the
solid pleasures OF the table followed and
were kept up with ZeSt and ability to
put away vast quantities of provisions
that would astOnish most people of the
present generation. The central dish
was the bOar's head, flanked by other
spells Of the chase. At the present day
the browning ideas of Christmas pleas
ures in England, as. indeed, in every
| where else throughout Christendom,
are still the grOsser joys of eating and
drinking. The 'Iroast beef and plum
| smack about it and solid plenty is the
characteristics of Christmas cheer at
English tables. First comes the savOry
roast goose, which is the recognized
Christmas dish among all classes, peers
| and commOners alike, and the plum
pudding, which is brought in Steaming
| with burning brandy surrounding it,
causing young hearts to rejoice
and bringing in vista of future
stomachache and physic to small boys.
| The merchant decOrOusly drinks wine
with his sons and daughters and,
the generous influence of sherry, tips
them handsomely. Throughout the
land charity expands her wings, and IN
all the large cities general movement
is heartily made to let the poor have at
least one good dinner.
In America the custom of hanging up
the stocking is as heartily observed as
ever, and little boys and girls in town
and country for weeks before Christmas
speculate on what Santa Claus will
bring them. The North German custom
of the Christmas tree has been largely
revived of late years, and in many
households has become regular OBJ
servance every year. Both the Christ
mas tree and the Santa Claus custom
are the relics of the days when Thor,
Wooden and Erica were wOrshiped, but
modified by Christianity till they are
now emblematlc OF the charitable feel-
ings Of the day of gladness.
In France, many years ago, it was the
habit of the people to go through pro-
fame parodies of the Christmas mass.
These have been abandoned by common
consent. 1t was the practice for people
to stop all kinds of labor at noon on the
day before Christmas, and masters kept
open house and Toasted their employees.
It was also the fashion for people to as
semble on the outside of churches and
cathedrals long before midnight, and
the time was passed away by the sing
ing Of Christmas carols, the monks
teaching them how to sing the carols as
well as the Latin canticles of the
church. AS the Saturnalian element be.
gan to come uppermost, the carols be-
came scurrilous and obscene, and nc
regret was felt when the custom was
done away with.
In sunny Italy the most visible char
acteristic is the excessive love and de
votion felt for the Virgin, which shows
itself in many quaint ways. The whole
scope of the teaching of the church
tends to make the people realize the
birth of Christ as an actual yearly oc
currence. This has led to the NANTES
tation of the pifferari, the bagpipe play
ers, who are all from the mountains o.
Calabria. The pifferaii divide themselves